Author: crissmancraig

Russian alcoholism has been the a subject of may jokes, stereotypes as well as a very real problem throughout Soviet history. It is then no suprise that Gorbachov identified it as a target in his desperate campaign to breath life into a dying union. Which glorious revolutionary did Gorbachov turn to from inspiration? No, not… More A Blast From the Past: Just say Nyet

The Brezhnev Doctrine is a foreign policy stance outlined by Leonid Brezhnev at the beginning of his reign. The Brezhnev Doctrine entails a decleration of the Soviet Union as the protector of communism and a right to intervene in the affairs of communist nations to streghten communism. Brezhnev didn’t only have his eye on the… More Brezhnev Doctrine: Not Just a Global Game

During the Great Patriotic War the people of the Soviet Union enjoyed a period of relaxed restrictions, lessened religious persecution and a level of intellectual freedom that was uncommon even in the pre-revolutionary Russian Empire. Though this increased freedom was great, the suffering of the people was greater. The people of the Soviet Union had… More The Big Deal With the Big Deal

Few weapons in history have seen the proliferation of the any of the Soviet produced weapons since WWII. The soviet union produced all of its service rifles in huge quantities and the period of rapid modernization just at the end of the war and following it lead to several different rifles being produced in those quantities… More Soviet Surplus: How Soviet Rifles Have Become A Global Icon

Few weapons in history have seen the proliferation of the any of the Soviet produced weapons since WWII. The soviet union produced all of its service rifles in huge quantities and the period of rapid modernization just at the end of the war and following it lead to several different rifles being produced in those quantities… More Soviet Surplus: How Soviet Rifles Have Become A Global Icon

Propaganda and rhetoric was never foreign to the Soviet Union or the Bolsheviks and was a tool utilized by them on regular basis. The Purges however took this tool that the Party had used against the Whites and the enemies of the Soviet Union and now directed it at it own citizens, specifically those that… More A Tale of Two Poems

Propaganda and rhetoric was never foreign to the Soviet Union or the Bolsheviks and was a tool utilized by them on regular basis. The Purges however took this tool that the Party had used against the Whites and the enemies of the Soviet Union and now directed it at it own citizens, specifically those that… More A Tale of Two Poems

Leon Trotsky, a influential Bolshevik and one of Lenin’s top lieutenants, foresaw the great power and influence that Cinema would have over popular culture. In a 1923 issue of the state controlled news magazine Pravda (“The Truth”) Trotsky detailed how the newly blooming cinematic industry would be a key tool of Bolshevik Soviet in the fight… More Kommunist Kino

Leon Trotsky, a influential Bolshevik and one of Lenin’s top lieutenants, foresaw the great power and influence that Cinema would have over popular culture. In a 1923 issue of the state controlled news magazine Pravda (“The Truth”) Trotsky detailed how the newly blooming cinematic industry would be a key tool of Bolshevik Soviet in the fight… More Kommunist Kino